Stencil



- Sept. 27, 1938.

H. F. ELLIOTT 2,131,503

STENCIL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed 001:. 10, 1936 I 82 J2 J2 m4 fflvemwm MM 6 Sept. 27, I938.

H. P. ELLIOTT STENCIL Filed Oct. 10, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 27, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

This invention relates to stencils and especially stencils adapted for use in addressing machines.

One of the objects of the present invention is the provision of a stencil carrying a tab which is pivotally connected with the stencil and can be swung into different positions denoting different meanings. For instance, one position of the tab may denote that the account represented by the address of the stencil has been paid and the other position may indicate that the account has not been paid.

A further object of the invention is to provide the stencils with a movable metal tab and the machine with a pair of circuit terminals for the stencil selecting mechanism thereof, the tab, in one position thereof, bridging the terminals and thereby elfecting appropriate control of the addressing machine and in the other position being movable to bridge the terminals, thereby to effect a difierent operation of the addressing machine.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a stencil having a plurality of notches, channels or grooves in its frame adapted detachably to receive metal tabs by which control of the addressing machine is effected either to insure a printing operation on the stencil or the passing of the stencil through the printing position without a printing operation thereon, .as may be desired.

A stencil comprising a part of the present invention is composed of a thick paper board frame that bounds a window occupied by a stencil sheet that is adapted to bear the printing address. The frame is composed of three laminations, .a middle lamination or welt sheet that is relatively thin and supports the stencil sheet and two thick facing sheets combined to the opposite outer faces of the intermediate thin sheet. A facing sheet may be about four times the thickness of the welt sheet.

It is an object of the present invention to provide such a stencil with a pair of opposed notches or grooves at an edge of the stencil, the notches extending through the facing sheets to and exposing the opposite faces of the intermediate Welt sheet for the purpose of locating a tab in such notches and in holding engagement with the welt sheet.

A further object of the invention is the provision of such a stencil with a U-shaped tab in the notches with the legs of the tab overlying the opposite exposed faces of the welt sheet and pivotally secured thereto, the legs of the tab being thinner than the outer sheets of the stencil so that the tab underlies the opposite faces of the stencil frame, the free end of the tab preferably also being inset within the notched edge of the stencil.

It is also an object of the invention to provide 5 a stencil of the type described with a movable tab that is located entirely within the surface of the stencil so that the tabs of superimposed stencils cannot catch upon each other or engage the guideway along which the stencil passes in the addressing machine.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a tab especially constructed for use with the stencil.

A further object is generally to improve the construction and use of stencils and addressing machines.

Fig. l is a sectional detail taken longitudinally through the stencil guideway of an addressing machine in which stencils of the present invention are adapted to be used.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of a stencil embodying the present invention.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of a modified form of stencil.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional detail of a stack of superimposed stencils illustrating the non-interference between the tabs of the successive stencils.

Fig. 5 is a perspective detail of one of the tabs adapted for use with either of the stencils of Figs. 2 and 3.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of the tab of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a plan detail of a stencil showing one of the tab receiving notches therein with the tab removed.

Fig. 8 is a section taken along line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a sectional detail taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 1 and illustrating the relation between the tabs of the stencil and the selector mechanism, said figure also corresponding to a section taken along line 9-9 of Fig. 10.

Fig. 10 is a plan detail of the selector mechanism of Fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a plan detail of the selector mechanism showing a modified arrangement of the selector pins for use in connection with the stenoil of Fig. 3.

Fig. 12 is a plan detail of a stencil of Fig. 2, illustrating one tab in position for completing the electric circuit through a pair of selector pins or circuit terminals of Fig. 9 and the other tab in position for preventing the completion of the circuit through the pins.

Fig. 13 is a plan detail of a modified form of selector or feeler mechanism useful when the stencils are advanced long edge foremost in the addressing machine.

Fig. 14 is a perspective view of the selector or feeler mechanism of Fig. 13.

The stencil l6 embodying the present invention comprises a rectangular frame composed-of three superimposed paper sheets or laminations, there being a middle sheet 18, commonly termed a welt sheet, see Fig. 8, combinedbetween two much thicker outer or facing paper sheets 20 and 22. Both of the outer or facing sheets are formed with aligned rectangular openings or windows 24 therein. The welt sheet extends into the space between the aligned windows and in itself is provided with a window 26. A stencil sheet 28 is located within one of the windows, as the window 24, of a thick facing sheet, and overlies the win? dow 26 of the welt sheet and is adherently affixed to the exposed welt sheet. The stencil sheet 28 is adapted to receive the address or other'data to be printed. The stencil as thus described is well known in the art.

In accordance with the present invention each of the thick facing sheets 20, 22 is provided with a notch 30 which extends inwardly from one edge of theframe and passes completely through the facing sheets and thereby exposes a portion l8a of the. welt sheet, the two notches 30 being in alignment. removed at the notches so that the marginal edge 32 thereof, at the notches, is inset within the edge of the stencil, see particularly Figs. '7 and 8. The notches are more or less triangularly shaped, having inclined side walls 34, and also having a rounded bottom 36. The exposed portion lBa of the. welt sheet is provided with a perforation or passage 38 which is located in they bottom or apex part of the aligned notches.

The metal tab 40 that is adapted to be carried by the stencil is composed of aspringy metal strip bent upon itself to form two confronting.

legs 42 and 44,connected by a reflexed section v4E5 which forms the end of the tab. The tabv isso constructed that the legs 42, 44 are held yieldingly in substantial engagement with each other by the inherent resiliency of the tab, although the legs can be separated readilyto receive the welt strip l8a between them. The leg 42 is longer than the leg 44 so as to permit the convenient insertion of the welt sheet between thelegs. One of the legs, asthe short leg 44, is provided with a circular or dome-shaped projection 48 which is adapted to enter the circular perforation 3,8 of the welt sheet and thereby form the pivotal connection between the tab and the stencil. The

other leg 42 is provided with a circular perforation or aperture 50 that overlies and surrounds the pivot dome 48. The tab is applied to the stencil by merely inserting the exposed portion l8a of the welt sheet between the legs and moving the tab over the welt sheet until the pivot dome 48 enters the perforation 38 whereupon the tab will be retained on the welt sheet against accidental displacement and with sufiicient frictional engagement to hold the tab securely in whichever angular position it is set.

The inclination of the side faces 34 of the notches 30 of the stencil is such as to be engaged with the opposite side edges of the tabwhen the tab is in one or another of the two different angular positions into which it is intended to be The outer edge of the welt sheet is.

adjusted, the side walls thus defining these positions. The bent end of the tab is provided with a notch 52 which facilitates the engagement of a finger with the tab for swinging the tab to one side or the other of its notch.

The position of the tab in one side of the notch may denote one meaning, as, for instance, that the account represented by the address carried by the stencil has not been paid. The position of the tab in the other side of the notch may denote a different meaning, as, for instance, that the account has been paid.

For some purposes it is sufficient to provide the stencil with one tab and the corresponding notches. For other purposes it is desirable to provide the stencil with two or more such tabs and notches. In Figs. 2 and 12 the stencil is provided with two tabs. In these figures one tab is represented as lying in one side of the notch and the other tab in the other side of its notch.

In all tabs, the thickness of the legs 40 and 44 of the tab is materially less than the thickness of the facing sheets 20 and 22' of the stencil so that the tab lies entirely within the opposite broad faces of the stencil frame. The tab is also shorter than the length of the notches so that.

its end 46 lies within the edge of the frame.

Thusthe tabs of superimposed stencils cannot.

cils embodying the present invention are, adaptedv to be used. The machine. comprises a holder 54.

fora stack of superimposed stencils IBLancLa guideway 56 consisting of a pair of spaced-rails 58 with confronting grooves 60in which the opposite edges of the stencils. are located. One of suchrails is illustrated. in cross-section in Fig. 9. The successive .lowermoststencils of the stack are moved from the holder 54 into the guideway by a .reciprocating pusher 62 and'along the guideway and under the selector or feeler mechanism 64 and thence into printing position between the reciprocating ink printing roller .66 and the cooperating platen 68.

It will be apparent from an inspection of the stack of stencils .ofFig. 1 andalso. of'the stack illustrated in cross-section in Fig. 4 that the tabs of the superimposed stencils are maintained out of contactwith each other so that the successive lowermost stencils can be moved out of the holder into and along the guideway without the tabs. catching either upon each other or upon a part of the stencil frame or the machine .in any. such manner as to hinder or prevent the proper movement. of the stencils. From an inspection of Fig. 9 it willbe apparent that the tabs are also positioned out of contact with the rail 58 of the stencil track.

While the visual inspection of the position-of the tabs can convey certain desirable information to the operative, the tabs are also arranged to control the action of the addressing machine through the selector mechanism in response to the engagement or lack of engagement of selector or feeler pins of the feeler mechanism 82 withthe tabs. It is common for anaddressing machine to be provided with selector-mechanism of which feeler mechanism, corresponding generally to the feeler mechanism 62, is a part. The selector mechanism usually is controlled by perforations of the stencil which permit one or more feeler pins to pass through a perforation and make electrical contact with a fixed circuit terminal. usually the stencil guideway therebeneath, or prevent such contact, for the purpose of disabling the printing mechanism while permitting the operation of the stencil pusher so as to cause an unwanted stencil to pass through the printing position without receiving a printing operation. This type of machine is well known in the art and is illustrated, for instance, in the Elliott Patent Nos. 714,790, dated December 2, 1902, 2,015,552, dated September 24, 1935, and 2,035,695, dated March 31, 1936.

The tabs of the stencil of the present invention are designed to effect similar control of the printing mechanism. Thus when the tab of a stencil is in one position the stencil will receive a printing operation and when the tab is in a different position the stencil will be passed through the printing position without receiving a printing operation. With the stencil of Fig. 3, the presence or absence of a tab controls the rinting operation.

For operation with the tabs of the present invention the feeler mechanism 64 is constructed differently from what has been the case heretofore. The feeler mechanism includes a vertical slide bar 10, see especially Figs. 1, 9 and 10, which is reciprocated vertically above the stencil guideway in timed relation with the advancing movements of the stencils to feel each stencil in the guideway in advance of the printing position at the time the stencil is stationary in the guideway so as to condition the printing mechanism for printing or for non-printing or skipping.

The slide bar 10 has a plate 12, which can be an insulating plate, secured to the lower end thereof and extended horizontally above the tab receiving portion of the stencil when it is in printing position. A pair of spaced parallel metal bars 14 and 1B are secured to the top face of the insulating plate and by said plate are insulated from each other. Said bars constitute terminals of an electric circuit which controls the disabling mechanism of the printing mechanism.

Said bars are provided with a plurality of pin receiving apertures 18 which are especially adapted to cooperate with the stencil of Fig. 3, as will be explained later, although for the stencil of Figs. 2 and 12, the bars need have but one aperture each for each tab of the stencil. Vertically movable feeler pins 8|] and 82 are located in appropriate holes 18 of the two bars and are under tension of hold-down springs 84. One of the pins, as the pin 80, is adapted to be so positioned as to engage the stencil at a location indicated at 86, Fig. 12, while the other pin is adapted to engage the stencil at the location 88. The location 86 is near the pivot point of the tab so that the pin Bil can always engage the tab irrespective of its position in the notch. The location 88 is at one side of the center of the tab notch and hence the pin 82 will not engage the tab if the tab is in the other side of the-notch, as is illustrated by the position of the upper tab, Fig. 12. Under such conditions the selector control circuit will not be completed through the terminal bars 14, 16. If, however, the position of the tab is such that it underlies the location pivoted.

88, as is indicated by the lower tab, Fig. 12, then when the feeler mechanism descends both pins will engage the tab and the pins will be electrically bridged and the circuit between the terminal bars 14, 16 will be completed through the tab. Hence control of the disabling mechanism will be effected.

In the modified form of stencil illustrated in Fig. 3, the stencil I 6a is provided with a plurality of pairs of aligned slots 30a in both thick facing sheets of its frame to expose the welt sheet l8b. Tabs 40a, corresponding to the tabs 40 of Figs. 5 and 6, can be detachably inserted in selected ones of the slots, these tabs, like the tabs 40, lying entirely within the surface of the stencil. The slots 30a have straight parallel side walls 340 which engage the opposite side edges of the tab so that, with this construction the tab cannot be The tabs with this construction also control the operation of the printing mechanism; in this instance by the location of the tab along the margin of the stencil instead of by the angular position of the tab.

The feeler mechanism for cooperative relation with the stencil of Fig. 3 has a pair of feeler pins a, 82a, disposed in alignment, as illustrated in Fig. 11, instead of being offset, as illustrated in Fig. 10, for cooperation with the pivoted stencil. Any tab can be made the controlling tab by shifting the pins in the terminal bars into register with the tab position on the stencil. The action is the same as has been described heretofore. The positions of the tabs of the stencil of Fig. 3 correspond to the positions of the perforations in the heretofore usual stencil and each position of the tab can represent a different class of goods or the like.

Stencils are sometimes advanced long edge foremost in the guideway, instead of narrow edge foremost as is illustrated in Fig. 1. In such instance a simplified form of feeler mechanism, as illustrated in Figs. 13 and 14, may be employed. In Fig. 13 a stencil I6 is illustrated as being advanced long edge foremost in the direction of the arrow 90 in a guideway. One of the rails 58!]. of the guideway is illustrated in this figure. The feeler mechanism comprises a clip 92 which engages the rail 58a and can be clamped in suitable position thereon by the clamping screw 94. The clip has an insulating plate 96 fixed thereto which overlies the path of movement of the stencils and is provided with two relatively insulated contact fingers 98 and I00 which constitute terminals of the selector mechanism, as hereinbefore described The contact fingers are positioned both to engage a tab 40 of the stencil when the tab is in one position in its slot, as in the left hand position, Fig. 13, but not both to engage the tab when the tab is in its opposite position.

I claim:

1. A stencil having a frame comprised of an intermediate thin welt sheet combined between facing sheets, the facing sheets having superposed tab-receiving notches therein inwardly extended from the edge of the frame which expose the welt sheet on both sides between them.

2. A stencil having a frame composed of an intermediate welt sheet combined between facing sheets, the welt sheet at an edge of the frame having an exposed part free on both sides from overlying facing sheets, and a tab carried by and movable on said exposed welt sheet part.

3. A stencil having aframe comprised of an intermediate thin welt sheet combined between facing sheets, the facing sheets having superposed said tab having a pivotal connection with said 7 welt sheet, and said notches being wider than said tab to permit such pivotal movement.

4. A stencil having a frame comprised of an intermediate thin welt sheet combined between facing sheets, the facing sheets having superposed .tab-receivingvnotches therein inwardly extended from the edge of the frame which expose the welt sheet .on both sides between them, and a U-shaped tab straddling said exposed partof 'saidwelt, sheet and';having its legs located in said notches, said :tab having a pivotal connection with said welt sheet, and said notches being wider than said tab towpermit such pivotal movement; said pivotal ;conn.eotion comprising a projection on one leg which is-rotatably located in a-perforation of said exposed part ofsaid welt sheet, the legs of said tab being resilient and being urged toward each other by'their; inherent resiliency.

5. A stencil having a frame comprised of an .intermediatethin welt sheet combined between facing sheets, the ,facing sheets having superposed tab-receiving ,notchestherein inwardly extended f-romtheedgeof the-frame which expose the welt sheet on both sides between them, and a U -shaped tab straddling saidiexposed part of said welt sheet and having its legs located in said notches, said tab having a vpivotal connection with said welt sheet, and said notches being wider than said tab to permit such pivotal movement, said notches ,being generally ,vi-shaped with their widest part locatedat the-edges of the frame and their apices being circular, the ends of the legs of said tab being correspondingly circular and located pivotally in the circular apices of said notches.

HARMON P. ELLIOTT. 

